1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate, in general, to removable security structures designed to prevent entry through an opening from the exterior and particularly to a security grill structure utilizing telescoping members to secure an opening and that can be easily removed from the interior.
2. Relevant Background
Society has long recognized the need to enhance the security of windows and other openings in certain geographic areas. For example, it is common to find windows and doors alike in certain urban areas fashioned with some sort of security grating or structure. While security gratings and structures have long prevented unwanted visitors from entering a dwelling or building, they have also prevented, on occasion, the occupants of such structures from making a successful egress during times of emergency.
As the result of individuals being inadvertently locked inside buildings during life-threatening situations, building codes have been adopted in many states regulating the installation and use of security structures. Most states now require buildings employing security structures to provide at least one opening for emergency egress that must be free of bars or other security structures or offer the ability to quickly remove the security devices without the use of a key, special tool or specialized knowledge.
Providing a security structure for an opening that is essentially impassable from the exterior yet easily removable from the interior, and that does not offend the aesthetics of the architecture, remains a challenge. U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,122 by Snapka and U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,397 by Almond both provide a security bar design that is removable yet both fail to blend or conceal the structure within the existing window design. There remains, therefore, a need to provide a removable security structure that can be combined with the architecture of the building so as to provide security while retaining the opening's aesthetics.